Return Juvenile
by brokenwindow23
Summary: After the death of a beloved sensei, an intruder approaches Konoha and causes commotion. Believing the intruder has to do with their sensei's death, Naruto and Sakura attempt to confront him, but the similarities between him and their sensei is unnerving.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 **

Sakura glanced up from studying the worn red planks of the bridge she was standing on, when she heard the sound of someone running in her direction.

"Sakura-chaaaaaan!" Naruto yelled, skidding to a halt. His orange clothes were almost blinding in the sunlight.

Sakura gave him a weak smile and stood up from her leaning position against the bridge railing. "Shall we go, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto's happy face fell slightly, but nodded affirmative nonetheless. "Ya."

The two began walking silently, side-by-side. Even Naruto didn't say a word. They continued that way, walking through the woods and down worn paths, until they came to the training ground they had trained together at. They paused, looked at each other, before walking over to the large slab of obsidian sitting near the trees. It was the memorial stone.

Naruto knelt down and touched the newest addition to the names of those who had died protecting the village. "It's hard to believe he's gone, isn't it, Sakura-chan?"

"Yeah," Sakura said shakily, "but he's been missing for a few months and they brought back is headband, he…he couldn't still be…"

Her eyes slowly filled with tears. "I- I thought," she trembled, "that when we got Sasuke back, that we'd be together and be-" Tears began running down he face.

"I know." Naruto said gently, standing up and looking up at the cloudless sky. "A team again."

"Let's go Sakura-chan, we'll be late meeting Tsunade-sama. He wouldn't want that." Naruto chuckled slightly.

Sakura brushed her fingers across the newly carved name, as if to convince herself that it was there.

"See you soon," she said, trying to smile through her tears, " Kakashi-sensei."

A/N: this is a test kinda... this is my first fic... please review if you want me to continue!!!(it'll be a oneshot if no one likes it)


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

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A figure dressed in black approached the gates that led into Konoha. Its face was concealed by a hood, and its hands by gloves. The cloak the figure wore, dark as the night sky was, swirled about it menacingly, like a wraith from the underworld. As it walked it made no noise, as if it wasn't really there at all. 

The shinobi on guard, jerked himself out of a half-asleep state, when the figure caught his eye, walking closer and closer. When the shinobi opened his mouth to yell out a nervous "Who are you?" the figure vanished.

Before the could register what had happened, the figure appeared in front of him, hitting him gently in the chest with charka on the tips of his fingers. The shinobi want unconscious almost immediately, and the figure caught him when he fell, placing him carefully on the ground.

It entered into the village, soundlessly jumping rooftop to rooftop until in reached its destination. It opened the apartment window and noiselessly slipped inside, the dust muffling the almost mute noise that came from the figure leaping into the center of the abandoned room. It started to complete the task it set out to do.

The shinobi guard groaned, as he was shaken awake almost an hour after the figure had entered the sleeping village. Naruto's anxious face swam out of the dark of unconsciousness as he slowly sat up, trying to recall what happened. His eyes opened wide and he looked at Naruto abruptly saying the first thing that came to mind.

"Intruder."

Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly. "I'll tell Godaime-sama, you have people search for him." He ordered.

The shinobi nodded, standing up quickly and ran off to warn the others and to organize a search.

Naruto let out a frustrated "tch" before running off himself, jumping on the rooftops to the Hokage Tower. He landed next to an open window and stuck his head in.

"Old lady!" he hissed. Tsunade's head snapped up from it's previously sleeping position.

"What is it?" she barked. "Normal people are supposed to be sleeping."

"Unidentified intruder," he said excitedly.

"Not Akatsuki?" she asked, alert.

Naruto shrugged.

"He might be a threat." Tsunade said, standing up. "Let's go, Naruto."

They left the room and then the building, walking very fast.

"They might have caught him already."

No sooner than when the words left her mouth, then a shinobi approached Tsunade.

"We've surrounded the intruder, Godaime-sama!"

"Good, lead us to him." Tsunade ordered, and the shinobi nodded, and began sprinting in the opposite direction.

She and Naruto followed quickly until they came to a group of about thirty ninja, surrounding a black figure that was about Naruto's height.

"Who are you?" Tsunade said sternly, eyes flashing dangerously. The figure turned slowly, it's cloak twirling around it as it turned. They could see it carried a black bag on it's back. The figure raised its head, enough to see its face.

It wore an ANBU mask, like that of Konoha's ANBU, except in was one Naruto had not seen before.

It was a wolf mask, one that sent chills down the spine of anyone who saw it. It was breathtakingly perfect, but sent out waves that told people that the wearer was terrifyingly deadly.

Tsunade gasped, as did several others, though she got over it more quickly, hitching a distrustful look onto her face, though her eyes showed confusion.

The figure clapped his hands together.

"You wanna fight?" Naruto said, his voice near a scream.

The figure looked at him, or that's what it looked like. The holes where the eyes were supposed to be displayed no signs of anything remotely human underneath.

Gai, who had been in the crowd of shinobi, struck his signature 'nice guy' pose and leapt in front of the figure, landing in a fighting stance.

The figure turned to him and Gai let out a yell while running at him. The figures hands were blurred with seals and Gai stopped abruptly, shocked that anyone's hands could move that quickly. Even a sharingan would have a difficult time registering them.

The figure was surrounded by a circle of charka that spun around it dangerously. The bright blue of normal charka was steadily paling until was a shade none of the surrounding ninja present had ever witnessed.

Pure white.

The figure spread out its arms as if trying to push them away, and a blast of wind knocked everyone over. As Naruto got up, he saw the figure jump into the air, the surrounding charka propelling him upwards, and disappeared into the clouds.

Tsunade had gotten to her feet. And was staring up at the place the intruder had vanished. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, they were locked onto Naruto.

"Get me Shizune. I need to do some research."

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A/N: Ta da! Chapter 2! If anything confused you, review and ask me, and I'll answer any questions. Please read and review!!! I love feedback!!! Thank you !! 


	3. Chapter 3

** Chapter 3 **

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Tsunade sat behind her desk, poring over a pile of folders and files and documents on ANBU members past and present. Naruto was leaning against the wall, looking extremely bored, while Sakura sat, staring into space, obviously thinking hard.

"Shishou," Sakura began, ", who was that?"

"That's was I'm trying to figure out." Tsunade responded. Sakura sighed.

A long silence filled the room.

"Old lady, what was Kakashi-sensei's mission about?" Naruto inquired after several minutes.

"Rank A, it was completed, he sent Pakkun ahead, so something must have happened on the way back."

"Didn't you send anyone to look for him?!" Naruto shouted.

"The best. Three ANBU squads. They didn't find him, only his headband. His _bloody_ headband."

Naruto looked down, thoroughly disappointed. "I kinda miss his excuses."

"Do you know why he was always late?" Tsunade said.

"No." Sakura and Naruto said in unison, shaking their heads. Tsunade smiled sadly.

"We didn't know Kakashi-sensei at all. He was always training Sasuke." Naruto said angrily.

Then a different voice spoke. "He didn't want history to repeat itself."

"Ero-sennin!" Naruto chirped, smiling broadly.

Sakura glared at Naruto for his rudeness. "What do you mean 'didn't want history to repeat itself'?" she asked.

"He didn't want Sasuke to rely on the curse, and…" Jiraiya trailed off.

"What, what?!" Naruto asked excitedly.

"He didn't want Sasuke to change from a friends death." he finished quietly.

Naruto and Sakura's eyes widened. "What?" Sakura said.

"You thought his life was perfect, hn?" Tsunade said, filing through the papers.

"He was too old." Jiraiya said.

"What? He's only thirty!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Not old as in age. His heart is too old." He sighed. "He's seen too much." He added, seeing Naruto's confused face.

"But he must have became a jounin not too long ago, because he must have graduated at our age." Sakura said slowly.

"Nope." Jiraiya said, chuckling.

"Never mind that. Jiraiya, have you seen this mask before?" Tsunade held up a sketch of theANBU mask the stranger that had entered the village was wearing.

Jiraiya looked confused when he saw it. "ANBU Wolf?"

"Yes, but do you know _whose_ it is?" She said exasperatedly.

"Ka…kashi..." Jiraiya said.

"No way." Tsunade said. "You know the intruder, could he have-?"

"Most likely." Jiraiya said quickly.

Tsunade stood up and they both exited through the window.

"What's up with them?" Naruto asked Sakura. She just shrugged.

"Let's follow them."

"Someone broke into Kakashi-sensei's apartment?" Naruto yelled, after he and Sakura caught up to the two sennin, who had finished explaining the situation to them.

They both nodded grimly. 'That was his mask when he was in ANBU." Jiraiya said.

They climbed up stairs to an apartment building and Tsunade and Jiraiya stopped in front of a door.

"Sensei never told us of being in ANBU…" Sakura said.

"Never one to talk about himself." Jiraiya said smiling, "Sakumo talked of him all the time."

"Who?" Naruto asked. Jiraiya didn't respond.

"How are we going to get in?" he asked.

Tsunade simply raised her fist and slammed the door down, making if fly off its hinges and land on the floor and crack in half from the new hole.

"Ta-da." she said dryly.

Their footprints were muffled from the inch of dust layering the entire apartment.

"Look!" Naruto said eagerly. "Footprints! Or something…"

They were indeed footprints. They led a trail around the perimeter of the apartment.

"It seems so bare." Sakura said.

They followed the trail to a door. Jiraiya grabbed the door handle and opened it. Four heads peeked inside. It wasn't as empty. They walked inside looking around. A board with several papers pinned to the surface was next to a neatly made bed. There was nothing else.

Sakura wandered cautiously over to the board, and inspected it. There were papers such as meeting announcements, grocery lists, chunin exam papers with the note "Naruto should take this soon!" scribbled in the corner, and lastly calendar with a date circled.

"Why's this day circled?" Sakura asked curiously.

"He visits the memorial stone extra early that day." Jiraiya said simply.

"Why?" Naruto said.

"It was a day that many things changed." he said. "He fully completed Chidori that day."

"Oh." Naruto said, still slightly confused. What were they hiding?

Tsunade walked over to a corner of the room and picked up a box that sat there, hidden behind an empty bookshelf. It was very heavy.

"What's in there?" Jiraiya said, looking at the box as if expecting it to answer.

"I don't know! That's why you're supposed to open it, baka!" Tsunade snapped. She opened the box and the quartet peered inside. It was full of pictures.

"Who are they?" Naruto said, pointing to a picture of a yellow haired man with his hands placed on the heads of two boys, one with black hair and a pair of orange goggles over his eyes, and one that had silver hair and a mask covering his face. There was a girl with marks on her face similar to Kiba's between the boys, who were glaring at each other.

"Ah!" Jiraiya said taking the picture from Naruto. "Team Minato!"

"Huh?" Naruto said.

"The team Kakashi was on. His sensei was the Fourth Hokage." Jiraiya said, smiling.

"What's this?' Sakura said, picking up a long, sheathed dagger. The handle was worn with use.

"Ah!" Tsunade said, her eye's lighting up. "White Fang!"

"Is that the man Chiyo-sama talked about?" Sakura said softly.

Tsunade nodded. Sakura slowly unsheathed it. Jiraiya gasped. "It's fixed! The last time it was used, it was broken. Someone must of fixed it."

The blade was glistening, still sharp. "It wasn't used recently. Did Sensei ever use it?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "Only once, a long time ago. That's why you never saw him use it."

Just as Naruto began to pull out another item, they foursome found themselves unable to move.

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Sorry for the lateness...I had a project I forgot about. Oops. Anyway, chapter 4 should be coming soon.

Thank you to those who reviewed!!!! If you have any questions, ask me, and I'll try to answer them!!! I love feeback!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

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Thank you to my wonderful beta jigglywigglytubbibubbi73. Unfortunately, I don't own Naruto, though I wish it…I do, however own the plot

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It was as if they were frozen in time. They could breath, their hearts were beating, and their eyes could move, but the rest of them was still. 

A cloud suddenly covered the sun, plunging the village into gloom and darkness. The four occupants of the room waited in tense silence. The window slid open of its own accord, and a strong wind swept through the room, allowing leaves to settle in where the wind intended.

A figure suddenly appeared on the windowsill. It was the intruder from before, balanced in a crouching position, its cape whipping around it as it sprang up, and landed gracefully next to the box the four frozen people were gathered around.

The shinobi were quite embarrassed, being forced to remain stationary because of a thief and troublemaker, and the unexpected intrusion.

The figure leaned over and swiftly plucked the tanto Sakura had been holding from her grasp and quickly sheathed it and returned it to its box, which he (or she) shut with a soft click.

As the black clad person began to turn back towards the window to make her (or his) exit, Naruto had weakened the stranger's jutsu enough to speak through clamped-shut teeth.

"Who are you?!" Naruto demanded, concentrating on keeping the jutsu at bay.

The figure paused and turned to look at him out of the corner of its eye.

"I am someone, not anyone, not everybody, and not nobody." The stranger said, its voice surprisingly low, and confirming the fact that the figure was male.

His response failed to impress Naruto, who inwardly glared at him and shot another question. "Wudda do you got against Kakashi-sensei?"

The figure's profile tensed, and he paused before answering, quite coolly, "Shouldn't you as yourself that question?"

"What?" Naruto inquired tersely, eyes narrowing slightly.

The intruder let out a humorless laugh before answering. "You left him."

"Did not." Naruto growled defensively.

"Hn, I wonder," the shadow began, "how he felt when you two left him. First Sasuke,"

Naruto winced.

"Then you two left to train with the sannin. He was proud, I'm sure, but…"

The figure knelt down and hissed in Naruto's ear. "Lonely. Terribly lonely. Abandoned by his students because he wasn't good enough."

He stood up. "You never thought about that did you?"

"He never cared about us! Only Sasuke!" Naruto replies angrily, his voice cracking.

"Heh, he did. Very much so. Why do you think these two," he said, pointing at Tsunade and Jiraiya with his index and little finger, his other hand around the box, "knew so much about you?"

Naruto couldn't find a reply.

"Forget him. It would have been better if you and he had never met. It will only hurt you in the end." the stranger said, turning his back on Naruto.

"No! He was an excellent sensei!" Naruto roared, eyes flashing.

"But so easily replaced. Hm, was he not a good enough sensei for you?" the stranger whispered. "Do you give up on him that easily?" The voice sounded as if it were painful for him to say.

And then he was gone, vanishing into the village through the open window. Upon his disappearance, the occupants of the room found themselves capable of movement once more.

Sakura seemed very disgruntled.

"How did he just freeze us in place like that!" she muttered, cracking her knuckles threateningly. "When I get my hands on that scheming little-"

"Static electricity." Jiraiya interrupted, staring fixedly at the spot the stranger had once stood.

"Huh?" Naruto scratched his head, clueless. Jiraiya sighed.

"Know when you do your laundry, sometimes your socks stick together, or when you walk around in circles on a rug, you get zapped when you touch the door handle?"

Naruto nodded, still looking baffled.

"That's static electricity. He must of made us immobile using static electricity."

"How do you know?" Tsunade asked.

He winced. "I touched something made of metal." Jiraiya held up a rather burnt looking index finger.

"Smart." Tsunade said dryly. "But shouldn't we be doing something?"

"What?" Naruto asked. Sakura rolled her eyes and hit him over the head.

"Finding the intruder, maybe." she said sweetly.

"Ya!" Naruto yelled, punching the air. "Let's go!" He looked around. Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Sakura had already left. "Aw, hey, wait up!" he shouted, running out of the room and flying down the stairs, pocketing the object he was able to snatch from the ancient looking box.

He sprinted and lept his way to the Hokage Tower, rather annoyed that they had left without him. He threw himself through the window and landed, a little unsteadily, on his feet and looked up to frown at Sakura, who was giggling behind her hands, and Jiraiya, who was smirking.

Tsunade returned his frown with a frown of her own. She exhaled deeply before looking sharply at the door when someone behind it rapped briefly, asking for entrance.

"Enter!" Tsunade commanded, straightening slightly.

The door opened and seven people walked in. Naruto's frown reversed itself and he smiled widely. Gai and Lee struck identical 'nice guy' poses, while Neji shuffled around, embarrassed, and Tenten slapped her forehead and groaned. Shino just stood there, emotionless as ever, and Hinata leaned side to side, glancing shyly around herself occasionally. Kiba grinned and patted Akamaru's head fondly, who let out a resounding bark.

The Godaime cleared her throat. "Your mission is extremely important, A or S rank. It is required that you complete is successfully. "She paused dramatically. "The mission is… 'Operation: Catch the Crook'."

She obviously did not receive the reaction she was hoping for.

"Er…'Operation: Catch the Crook'?" Neji muttered, sweat dropping. Tsunade nodded.

"Your mission is simple. Catch the intruder that entered Konoha earlier. He is too good a shinobi and too secretive for my liking. You are to either convince him to return, or take him by force. Is that clear?"

The group all nodded in agreement.

"Crystal clear, but," Kiba said, "how're we gonna track him?"

"Ah!" Naruto exclaimed, digging into his pocket. "I managed to take this!" He held up the object he had swiped ever so smoothly.

It was an oddly shaped kunai knife, with a uniquely decorated strip of leather wrapped around the handle. Tsunade nodded approvingly.

"Track the scent that isn't Naruto's and you should be able to find him." She closed her eyes. "Mission begins tomorrow. You're dismissed."

As they left the room, Naruto turned excitedly towards Sakura.

"Maybe we'll find Kakashi-sensei!"

Sakura's face brightened.

"Yes!" she said, her face breaking into a smile.

"Let's go get ramen!" Naruto shouted, smiling widely. Sakura nodded.

Naruto was on his sixth bowl of ramen.

"Remember," Sakura began, and Naruto turned his head to face her, noodles handing from his mouth, "when we tried to see Kakashi-sensei's face?"

Naruto grinned. "Ya! And he ate his food in two seconds so we couldn't see!"

"And when he finally took off his mask, there was another mask underneath?" Sakura added, giggling, with a slightly vacant stare of reminiscence.

"But I couldn't tell what he was thinking, because he didn't show any emotions." Naruto said thoughtfully.

"He smiled…" Sakura said.

"His eyes smiled, but was he really smiling?" Naruto said, putting down his chopsticks.

"What that guy said bothered you, didn't it?" Sakura said softly after several minutes. Naruto nodded.

"We won't forget him." Sakura said reassuringly, staring determinedly at her almost empty ramen bowl. "And we'll find out what happened to him."

Naruto smiled and nodded his head in agreement.

"Hm, well, I'm off Naruto-kun. Thanks for the meal!" And with that, she walked home.

Naruto downed the contents of his bowl, and paid. He left, his money purse considerably lighter. He let out a sorrowful sigh, and stared up into the night sky.

He took off into the night, leaping roof to roof until he reached the shelter of the trees. When he reached a clearing, Naruto lept down from the he was balanced on and stalked over to the memorial stone near the trees.

Smiling fondly at the memories that took place there, he crouched down to look at his sensei's name carved into the hard black stone. He gasped.

Someone had scratched the name completely off, leaving a rough surface where the name Hatake Kakashi once was.

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Hello!! Sorry this is so late, my wonderful readers!!! I had a "FF7 Obsession" phase, not to mention being sick and having lots of homework…and midterms…Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter! Oh, and Naruto said Kakashi didn't care about them because he was trying to defend Sakura and himself, he doesn't believe it.

Please review!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 

A/N: Okay, later on in the story, there may be spoilers for Kakashi Gaiden and chapters up through the Sai Arc.

The team of pursuers gathered at Konoha's gates at seven in the morning. Tenten was muttering about it being too early, and Neji and Shino were looking stoic and aloof as usual. Lee was doing push-ups when Kiba, Hinata, and Sakura walked up, Gai spouting words of encouragement.

Hinata blinked slowly, and Kiba burst out laughing at Lee's serious face and how ridiculous he looked, performing push-ups as fast as possible. Sakura just shook her head, smiling.

"W-where is Naruto-kun?" Hinata said quietly, her pale eyes scanning the people around her. Sakura shrugged.

"Maybe visiting Kakashi-sensei." she said calmly. Gai, who had heard, glanced over, brow furrowed, his rantings about youth miraculously stopped.

"What're you waiting around for?!" a voice said from above them. Their heads snapped upwards.

Naruto was standing on the top of the gate, looking down on them with a mischievous grin plastered on his face. He leaned forward, purposely causing himself to fall, hurtling through the air before landing naturally on the ground.

"Yosh! Are we all ready?" He grinned. Sakura rolled her eyes, but gave him a small smile.

"We were waiting for you." Neji explained tartly. Naruto's posture drooped like a wilted plant. "Let's just go!" Naruto pouted, crossing his arms.

"Do you have the kunai Naruto?" Kiba inquired, leaning lazily against Akamaru.

"Ya! Of course!" Naruto tossed it clumsily to him, and he caught it carefully and held it out for Akamaru to sniff. The dog let out a loud bark before turning and bounding out of the gate, tail wagging happily.

Kiba smirked. "He's got the scent. Come on!"

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They were jumping from branch to branch, their pace slowing considerably from when they first set out. It was growing dark.

"Gai-sensei," Hinata said timidly,"s-shouldn't we rest?" wind knocked out of her lungs when she landed.

"Hm, yes! We need our Youthful Sleep!"

Naruto passed the urge to snort with laughter and saved himself by maniacally coughing while busying himself with the search for an ideal camping spot.

Lee found it first.

Naruto sulked for a brief time before trying to set up a tent. He failed to do it properly and it took Shino and Tenten twenty minutes to untangle to mass of ropes and equipment.

Sakura hit Naruto hard on the head.

"Ah! Sakura-chan! What was that for?" Naruto whined, looking at Sakura while rubbing the bump on his head. Sakura decide that sucking her teeth was the only response to his whining.

The same process occurred again, only with Naruto almost setting the forest on fire before Sakura punched him.

When everything was finally set up correctly, the group of nine shinobi (and Akamaru) gathered around the merrily dancing flames of their campfire.

As Gai attempted to cook, the rest sat around and talked, with the exception of Shino and Naruto. Shino's silence was expected, but Naruto was being unusually quiet.

Something was nagging him, and it wasn't the words from the man who had entered Konoha that harassed his other thoughts.. He had a terrible feeling that he had forgotten something. As he struggled to grasp it in his mind, Sakura glanced over occasionally; unsettled that Naruto wasn't being his usual talkative self.

After they all choked down their supper (they regretted allowing Gai to cook), Sakura cornered Naruto and demanded to know what was wrong.

The two sat side by side, staring up into the limitless sky above them.

"So what's up Naruto?" Sakura asked gently, but sternly. Naruto hesitated before answering, bright blue eyes thoughtful.

"That man," Naruto started, and Sakura knew immediately he was talking about the intruder, "I feel like…I've met him before…a long time ago…"

Sakura was silent for a second. "We'll find out who he is. But I wonder…why did he take Kakashi-sensei's things?"

Naruto shook his head, as unknowing to the answer as she was.

They bid each other good night and crept off to their tents.

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Fists rained down on Naruto's small body as he lay in the alleyway, curled up in a fetal position, repeating the same word over and over in his mind.

Why?

Naruto's face was stained with tears.

The boy standing over him sneered and laughed cruelly, kicking him in the stomach, causing Naruto to struggle for air. Several men standing several yards away, watched him and guffawed.

The small crowd of children surrounding the crying five year old, shouted at him, and cursed his very existence.

"You're not wanted!" one snarled.

"Get out, you monster!" another bellowed.

Then, the wind changed. It swept through the alley, and the children and men gathered around Naruto appeared to be in a state of shock.

Without warning, a figure fell neatly from the roof of a building, and greeted the ground in a concentrated defensive stance, in front of the frightened boy.

The men gasped and turned to flee but, in the blink of an eye, all of the men were either sent flying through the air of knocked unconscious. The kids were flung back gently, but still enough so that they shot in the other direction as soon as their legs had found their supporting position again. The anonymous rescuer's movements were too fast for eyes to follow.

Naruto backed up against the wall, and shook and whimpered as the figure approached him. He was sure that he should be more scared of this person that he was of the others.

The figure crouched down in front of him. Naruto couldn't see his face clearly in the darkness.

"Are you okay, Naruto-kun?" The figures voice was quiet and kind, taking Naruto completely by surprise.

"How d-do you k-know me?" Naruto stuttered. The figure didn't answer. Instead, he scooped Naruto up and began to work his way to the Hokage Tower, the apartments they past blurred as they rushed past. Naruto struggled for a moment before stopping, surprised.

The person carrying him meant no harm, holding him gently, jumping across the village as though he was as light and delicate as a feather, but firmly enough so that he was in no danger of plunging into the streets below. The dull ache from his wounds was fading fast as were the bruises grazing his arms, the person holding him healing the wounds as he ran.

They landed outside a tall window to the second story of a round building, painted a blinding red. Naruto looked into the room with curiosity before his head was shielded by the man's arm. He could feel the rush of air as they lurched forward and heard the shattering of glass. Immediately afterwards, the sound of outraged voices reached his ears.

"How dare you barge in on this meeting ANBU!?"

The arm in front of Naruto's face moved and as he looked around the room, it's occupants, mainly consisting of elder men and women, let out small gasps.

"Why do you bring that filth with you?" an angry looking man shrieked.

Naruto's blue eyes filled with tears. He felt worse since he was clinging to a person he didn't know who had saved him from his tormentors with such ease.

"Please sit down, Danzo-san." a voice grumbled. Out of the shadows stepped a very old looking man, smoking a pipe, and gazing thoughtfully at the spectacle before him. The disgruntled looking man, Danzo, looked like he was about to argue, but decided against it, and sat back in his chair.

"ANBU, what is the problem?"

Naruto felt the person holding him bow slightly.

"Hokage-sama…some civilian children found him, not to mention some others and…this isn't the first time." His voice was calm, but the aura radiating from him warned everyone to shut up and listen.

The old man nodded wearily and made a smile. "I'll look after him, and…thank you for bringing this to my attention…"

Naruto was placed on his feet and pushed gently towards the Sandaime. He stumbled over to him and stood next to him shyly.

"I owe the Yondaime-sama that much…and Naruto,"

Naruto turned to face him, but he felt a hand on his shoulder and a colorful slip of paper was waved in his line of vision. It exclaimed 'FREE MEAL: Ichiraku Ramen'.

"Go to Ichiraku's Ramen Bar. You'll like it."

Naruto took it in his shaky hands, muttering a thank you under his breath. The man let out a small chuckle.

"Who're you, sir?" Naruto mumbled as formally as he could.

"Me?" Naruto could almost hear the man's smile behind the word. Naruto turned around once again, only to see a blur disappear in a flurry of leaves. But he still heard the figure's answer.

"A shinobi."

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Naruto jerked awake, his face covered in cold sweat. He stood up shakily and stumbled out of the tent, not hearing the protests of the newly awakened Neji and Kiba.

He trudged over to a nearby creek and splashed water over his face, causing himself to become drenched, trying to think more clearly.

The voice of his rescuer from long ago sounded familiar.

And then it hit him.

His savior from when he was attacked at age five, the person who inspired him to become a shinobi and the intruder to Konoha, the thief of Kakashi-sensei's belongings, the figure he was pursuing now, were indeed the same person.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Naruto couldn't fall back to sleep, he was up and ready before the sun had risen, and was waiting for the others to wake up.

He felt oddly betrayed, even though he had hardly known the stranger. He didn't even know his name. But he had looked up to him, and seeing that person take all of his sensei's belongings and just leave through the window made him angry. Naruto imagined the black-cloaked figure waving mockingly at him.

Maybe he had a good reason.

Naruto sighed. He wondered if this happened to everyone when they got older. Getting betrayed, becoming confused. He heard a rustling to his right. He turned his head slightly, all senses alert, before relaxing as he saw Shino emerge from the tent, sunglasses glinting in the sun. Shino nodded somewhat when he noticed Naruto's gaze and jumped up to a high tree branch. He stood there, not moving and a buzzing sound filled the air as bugs flew out of his sleeves. The bugs flew around, landing on branches and leaves. Eventually they all flew away, vanishing as quickly as they had come.

"Eh, Shino, what're you doing?" Shino didn't answer. Naruto adjusted his face to respond to Shino's failure to reply.

"Oi, Naruto." Kiba's voice sounded, next to Naruto.

"Hey, Kiba." Naruto said, grinning a little less enthusiastically than usual.

"What happened?"

"Huh?"

"You woke up early this morning…or last night, either way."

"Ah, nothing. Bad dream that's all."

Kiba raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

"We must guide you out of the Winter of Sadness and into the Summer of YOUTH!" an excited lee behind Naruto, causing said person to jump in the air.

"Excellent idea, Lee!" Gai was awake, as were the others. "I shall amuse you and Sakura with tales of my Eternal Rival!"

Sakura's eyes stopped in their process of rolling and they snapped towards Gai. Naruto stared determinedly at him as well, waiting for him to speak. The others looked at Gai, curious as well. Gai, who wasn't expecting them to be this interested in the Copy Ninja, deciding to tell them a story of an encounter with Kakashi as they traveled. He warned them that Gai himself was in the Winter of Sadness.

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Gai was kneeling in front of the memorial stone, tears streaming down his face.

"No, no! Remember, remember. The shinobi rule. No emotions, no emotions." He tried to wipe away his tears roughly, his breathing ragged.

"I knew you would be here…Gai." He whipped his head around at the unexpected voice. He squinted through the fog he knew the tears had formed. His eyes widened when he realized who it was.

Kakashi was standing there. He had traded his jounin uniform for a sleeveless black shirt that melded seamlessly to the mask he always wore. The headband with Konoha's symbol of a leaf on the piece of metal wasn't being worn, so that his left eye was uncovered, but shut, the scar running vertically across it looking almost menacing.

"My Eternal Rival! What are you doing here?" Kakashi didn't answer.

"Surely you notice what a Glorious Springtime it is? Everyone is so cheerful!"

"Gai."

"I challenge you to a battle, my Eternal Rival! I will win for sure this time!"

"Gai."

"Because I burn with the fire of Youth and of our beloved village and the wise teachings of my sensei-"

"Drop the façade."

Gai was stunned for a minute. "What do you-?"

Kakashi raised a silver eyebrow.

"Your voice is shaking, your hands are clenched, your eyes are red, and, after three months, you're still wearing black. Good enough justification?"

"It isn't a façade!" Gai defended, hating how his voice trembled.

Kakashi exhaled. "I heard you."

"Wha-"

"I'm not gonna tell anyone."

Gai's eyes were as round as dinner plates. He blinked and Kakashi was gone. He reappeared next to Gai, causing him to jump.

"You won't regret it." Kakashi spoke so softly that Gai had to concentrate to catch the words.

Gai shook his head. "Shinobi don't cry." Kakashi was silent for a moment.

"Are you really that stupid?" Gai blinked, startled at the uncharacteristic harshness in Kakashi's voice.

"Your sensei just died. Not crying is practically telling yourself that you aren't sad, that you don't care."

"We cannot show emoti-"

"Do you see anyone who's gonna tell the whole village you broke the rules? No." Kakashi said blandly.

"But for your sensei, you didn't cry."

"I can't." Kakashi said bitterly, his voice lowering to a whisper. "Not since that day."

"What day?"

"Never mind. You don't have to follow the rules mindlessly. If you never question, just do what's asked… you'll go numb. Feelings go. You'll find life not worth it anymore."

Kakashi knelt down next to Gai, tracing his fingers over the Yondaime's name carved into the surface, then another, and another. Kakashi shook his head.

"Was I not strong enough? Was I not good enough? Why, _how_, could I let him die?" Gai whispered tentatively. He turned towards Kakashi. "Why?!"

Kakashi stood up. "You'll have to answer that."

"Why?"

"I…can't answer those questions for myself." He turned his back. "You're stronger than you think, Gai." Kakashi tilted his head to look at the sky. Gai's eyebrows drew together defiantly.

"I'm not."

"You are." Kakashi corrected sternly. "You can let go. You are free to show what you are feeling…"

Kakashi began to walk away.

"I'm still chained to memories, regrets, pain, guilt. I hid them and it doesn't do any good. I'm still the same as before. A tool." He exhaled, his breath fogging the air, his shoulders slumping, and stopped in his tracks.

Gai stood up and whirled around to face Kakashi. He swallowed. "I should stop mourning. Sensei…wouldn't have wanted me to be sad."

"Hn. Four months is a long time to mourn…but the sadness…it will remain. You'll miss them for as long as can remember them…or until you meet again. He's only truly dead when you let him die in your mind."

Kakashi gave Gai an eye smile. "Just never forget them. That's all it takes. They teach you things, even though they're gone." Kakashi continued his path, turning his back. "Now go bother your teammates. They're waiting for you."

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They were all silent for a minute. Gai was oblivious, thinking forlornly about Kakashi. At first, like everyone else, he didn't notice why Kakashi was late for everything, because he visited the memorial stone…every day. Gai had followed him; using all the sneaky skills he possessed to make sure Kakashi didn't notice him. Kakashi had woken at the crack of dawn, and had followed him to the memorial stone.

Kakashi had stood there, looking at the slab of black obsidian, until the Sandaime himself came and told Kakashi softly to go home. Gai came out of his reverie.

"Ah! My Eternal Rival is wise as well! He-"

"What was 'that day'?" Naruto interrupted, eyes fixed on something in the air that only he could see.

"I have no idea." Gai responded, slightly surprised. "Whenever I asked, he ignored me completely and changed the subject."

"You said something about sensei's sensei. Who was that?" Tenten inquired. Naruto answered:

"The Yondaime."

"What! Really?" Neji burst out, obviously impressed. Gai nodded.

"You didn't know? Kakashi is- sorry _was_- considered a prodigy."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Really? Jiraiya-sama mentioned something about sensei becoming a jonin earlier than what was regular."

"Twelve."

Kiba answered first. "Huh?"

"He became an jonin when he was twelve." Gai repeated. All of their mouths, except Gai's, dropped open in surprise.

"Twelve?! How come we didn't know?" Naruto half-shouted. Gai let out a loud laugh.

"He wasn't one to rally brag."

"There's so much we didn't know about him." Sakura said sadly, examining her feet.

"No one really did, except for his friends, his family, and his sensei." Gai said gently.

"Then you must have known him well, Gai-sensei." Sakura pressed anxiously.

Gai shook his head. "I would be very bold indeed to call myself a friend of his." Naruto sent him a confused look.

Gai let out an uncharacteristic tired sigh, and they all turned their attention towards him. "To me, he was a friend, but to him, I was a comrade. True friendship must go both ways. He refused to let anyone get too close to him. Those that tried were pushed away."

"And was that why he wore a mask? So people couldn't know him very well?"

Gai shrugged. " I'm not sure. Though it is a…family tradition you could say."

"That's an unusual tradition." Neji commented. Gai nodded in agreement, eyes squinting as if they too were deep in thought.

"All of the Hatakes' wore their masks when they were on missions. Only Kakashi and his father wore theirs all the time."

"Why is that, Gai-sensei?" Lee asked.

Gai shook his head. "That, I do not know. And we probably never will."

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A/N: I'm SOOOOOOOOO sorry!! :( it has been too long!! there is a dilema with me writing stuff... first i have to kinda think it out... then i write it down, then i type it up, then i have to have my beta edit it!! :( it's all very confuzzling... but enough of me being whiney... hopefully i'll get the next chapter up soon... and PLEASE R&R!! it helps me make it better and stuff like that... (not to mention it makes me happy) thank you!! -

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	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

They decided to stop at nearby village. Both Akamaru and Lee ate far more than anticipated. Gai also wanted to check around to see if anyone had information or merely caught a glimpse of the figure in black.

While Shino and Hinata parted from the group to go shopping for food, the others went their separate ways. They attempted to catch sections of the villagers' conversations, talking casually to shop owners, trying to extract any information that was deemed useful.

Naruto was growing frustrated. All the villagers he had run into kept on babbling endlessly about someone he had assumed to be a movie star.

They all met together at an inn and rented several rooms, which they went to in order to drop off their camping supplies. Hinata took out nine carefully wrapped parcels and put one in each of the packs they carried.

They entered the cozy restaurant adjacent to the inn, drawn by the delicious smell wafting from the doors. It was bright and cheerful, with lanterns hanging from the ceiling and soft, chiming bells swaying in the breeze, dangling near open windows. The tiny old woman who led them to their seats seemed surprised at the number of people who wished to be seated at one table. She had given them their menus, smiled dazedly at them, and stuttered something about their waiter arriving shortly, before scuttling away to see a couple of newly arriving costumers.

The shinobi felt strangely relaxed, the open windows surrounding them permitting an easy escape if necessary.

"Good evening, may I take your orders?" A rather young, extremely pretty waitress had approached them; a tray tucked under one arm and a small pen stringed to a notepad in the opposite hand. She was wearing a red, kimono style dress, embroidered with black flowers. Her hair was pulled back into a loose bun with a pair of decorated hairstyling chopsticks. Two closed fans dangled from her wrist, glinting gold.

Naruto couldn't shake off the feeling that, though he knew he never met this woman before, she felt oddly familiar. Gai, who obviously noticed nothing, stared at her, spellbound. She raised a delicate eyebrow when Gai started drooling.

"Uh, we'll take a family style, please." Neji said, embarrassed at his teachers' actions. The waitress gave them a kind smile before whisking away their menus and appearing next to another table.

It took several minutes to break Gai from his trance. They sat around the table chatting amongst themselves, Sakura to Hinata about medical procedures; Kiba, Neji and Tenten having a heated discussion about fighting techniques and Lee talking to Naruto about how ramen wasn't healthy to have for every single meal.

Soon, the waitress returned, skillfully balancing four trays and serving the plates piled on top of them quickly and gracefully.

As she set the first empty tray down on a counter behind her, Gai began to speak in a low business-like tone. "What did you find out?"

"People kept on talking about the same person. A movie star or something." Naruto said grumpily. Sakura, Kiba, and Lee murmured in agreement.

"He isn't a movie star." The waitress had returned with the last tray.

"Who?" Tenten said.

The waitress tilted her head slightly. "You didn't hear?" They all shook their heads no. She gave them a small smile. "Apparently, Konoha's White Fang has risen from the dead.

"Impossible!" Gai protested, slamming his fists on the table enthusiastically.

The young woman frowned slightly. "No one else carries a weapon like that. He fought off two people who attacked this village, wearing black cloaks with red clouds on them." She either didn't notice them all stiffen in their seats, or she chose to ignore it completely. She sauntered away.

"Gai-sensei!" Tenten exclaimed, eyes shining. "Konoha's White Fang!"

"Who's he?" Naruto asked, snatching up a pair of chopsticks.

Tenten fixed her posture and entered lecturing mode.

" He was one of the greatest shinobi in history, on par with the three Sannin. He almost never failed a mission. He was given the nickname White Fang after the white light charka saber he used to fight with, which looked like a fang when he fought. The only mission he failed was one that he had to abandon to save his comrades."

"How do you know so much, Tenten?" Lee asked, in awe that someone could know this much history.

"Konoha's White Fang is my inspiration. His fighting skills with his famous white chakra tant­­o were amazing!" She blushed slightly before frowning. "I still never found out what his real name is…"

"The elders forbid the use of his name." Gai explained quietly

"Why?" Kiba asked.

"The mission that he abandoned proved to be a great blow to Konoha's. He was dishonored for it and hated even by those whom he saved. His son was treated the same way. When White Fang died suddenly, his son was forced to bear the shame and treatment his father had to go through. There aren't anymore records of the event however."

"Why is that?" Sakura said.

"Anything that hinted of the White Fang's failure or disrespected him was found to be turned into ashes and was spread across the village." Gai smiled wryly. "When I first saw it, I thought it was snowing grey."

"Who did it?

"His son. He respected his father greatly, so if you were caught insulting the White Fang, you could be guaranteed a few broken bones before his sensei stopped." Gai's expression saddened. "I was one of those ignorant people, going around insulting him, just because everyone else did. I didn't even know what he did wrong." Gai smiled, momentarily blinding those who listened intently around the table. "Until I met the White Fang's protégé! Thanks to him, I changed. I didn't meet him until I was thirteen, almost six years after his father's death. I was bad talking his father when he punched me through the wall of a nearby building." Gai winced. "Then, he tied me up against the memorial stone and lectured me. I was never the same bratty kid again."

Naruto listened silently, looking at the now empty plate in front of him with eyes glazed over. He knew what that boy had to go through and it made his heart throb painfully.

"What about his mother?" he asked quietly.

Gai paused before answering. "Died when he was younger."

"S-sorry to change the subject," Hinata started gently, "but what about the people that attacked? The ones in black cloaks decorated with red clouds."

"Akatsuki. But why are they here?" Neji pondered, thinking hard.

"Let's find out!" Naruto shouted, glad for the topic change, meanwhile earning several stares from other costumers.

"No! We must stick to the mission." Gai said sternly. Naruto scowled.

"But the intruder attacked them!" Naruto protested, an unusually serious look on his face. Gai opened his mouth, then shut it. Naruto had made a point.

When the waitress returned with their bill, Gai asked her where the person claiming to be White Fang was last spotted. She agreed to show them, shrugging, then smirked when Gai had to empty his entire wallet to pay.

She cleared away the empty dishes and came back, carrying a small bag.

They left, the waitress waving goodbye to the restaurant hostess.

"Thank you, Miss…?"

"Just call me Izuru." She said with a small smile.

Gai simply nodded.

She led them to the edge of the town and through a small section of forest to a clearing.

The ninja gaped, open mouthed, at the spectacle before them, except for Izuru, who just looked at the scene emotionlessly.

There was an enormous area of land, the trees burnt to the ground, the stumps still smoldering and flickering from the dying flames. It was black and desolate, dotted with craters with diameters of ten to fifteen feet at least.

"What happened?" Naruto whispered, astounded and in awe.

Izuru shrugged slightly. "They called it a lightning storm." She grinned ever so slightly, her eyes cast into shadow.

Gai twisted to stare at her, with distrust etched on her face. "Show yourself!"

Izuru inched back, defensive and stunned. "Wha-?"

Neji took a step forward, eyes narrowing. "You're using a henge jutsu."

'Izuru' smirked suddenly, flipped through the air, and landed several feet away from them with ease, looking coolly at them. She carefully slid the fans off her wrist.

"What gave it away?" she said, aggravatingly calm.

"We have a person who is especially good at sensing charka." Gai said, nodding towards Hinata, who blushed.

Izuru nodded, seemingly pleased. "You've improved, Hinata-kun. But enough talk." She snapped the fans open, and flicked them as if trying to shake off imaginary dust. Blades slid out of either end.

The shinobi all tensed, ready to spring into battle. Izuru smiled and raised the fans above her head, prior to letting them drop. The smile disappeared in a billowing cloud of smoke and ash.

There stood their prey. The intruder, black hood still in place.

Gai yelled towards him. "Come quietly or we will have to take you by force."

The figure didn't respond. He instead raised his left hand towards the sky, and then clouds, dark and threatening, began to form, swirling as if beginning to form a tornado. The wind began to pick up rapidly. Flashes of light appeared in the sky, and lightning crashed down, splitting nearby trees in two and sending rocks and debris in every direction.

A bolt of lightning crashed down and collided with the figure's outstretched hand. He closed it, as if catching it in the palm of his hand.

The leaf shinobi wasted no time, they flew at him, throwing everything they had at him in an attempt to bring him down.

Bolts of lightning collided with every weapon they hurled his way and it forced them to change course when trying to land a punch on him.

Once all of them had been driven back, the figure drove his fist into the charred ground, and the ground split in two, cracking, crumbling and overturning. The results were ten times worse than when Sakura punches her fist into the ground with her concentrated charka.

When the dust had settled, the ninja scrambled back into action. They all ran and flew at him.

As if in slow motion, the figure threw his hands out in front of him and two orbs of glowing blue light, like Rasengan, flew out of his hands towards them.

They had then landed on the figure, driving anything that they could get their hands on into his body. Kiba had laughed, and Neji scoffed at the counter attack, which had missed them all by several feet.

Naruto frowned, realizing that the intruder wouldn't have missed such easy targets, and turned to look to where the attack had landed. Naruto's eyes widened.

Two Akatsuki members, whose faces were hidden in shadow, had been knocked backwards and were now creeping towards them ready to attack.

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A/N: I'm sooooo sorry to those who have been waiting for a new chapter!! my wonderful beta was busy with school work and so was I... D: Hopefully, I'll be forgiven. I know the chapter isn't very long, but hopefully, the wait for the next chapter won't take as long! Again, I apologize... :( I've been working on another fanfiction story at the same time as this one(not uploaded yet...) so it became sort of confusing... And when I look at this story, it seems really bad... :( maybe I'll redo it one day... Anyways, I'm sorry one again for the wait, and if you have any suggestions or comments message me! Or review! An amateur author loves reviews! :) Thank you! -


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Yes, yes... I know... I deserve to suffer for making you all wait! And I'm not going to make excuses (homework, work, sleep, food, etc.) because you have probably heard it all before, so... meh...Hopefully, I'll actually be able to update more! :]

Anyways, new chapter up! Hurrah! This **WAS NOT** beta read, so if it's extremely bad, I apologize beforehand... D: My terrible writing hurts my soul... Enjoy!

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Chapter 8

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"Akatsuki!' Naruto shouted in alarm, jumping back.

Sakura, Gai, Lee, Neji, and Tenten reacted almost instinctively, twirling around, ready for an attack.

Naruto glanced towards black clad figure, who was wet with blood, which was seeping through the rips in the jacket he wore. He studied the mysterious person, noting his rather defensive position. It was as if he was protecting something or someone. By the way he was facing it almost seemed…

Was he trying to protect _them?_

Naruto remembered being warned not to pursue him, now realizing those harsh words he had said was a way to force them to not trust him. Naruto knelt next to him, and spoke softly.

"You… aren't trying to hurt us…are you."

He didn't say it as a question, but more as a statement. The man seemed to withdraw into himself momentarily before standing up with such energy and speed, Naruto fell backwards out of surprise. Hadn't he been weak a second ago?

There was no time for questions however as the stranger gestured for them to stay back.

Naruto nodded and sprang backwards.

"Naruto?" Lee shouted.

"He can still fight! I'd back away if I were you!"

They barely got two meters away before there was a low, deep, resounding roar. It was like thunder during a storm, but amplified and constant like they were sitting next to a waterfall.

Then it began to snow. But the snow was glowing and came up from the ground, like a twisted version of a snowfall. The clouds overhead converged and darkened intensely. The 'snow' exploded like fireworks at random points in midair, only avoided the small circle around the man, which included Naruto and the others. It was a _lightning storm_.

The Akatsuki members stood immobile, unable to protect themselves from the flurry of sparks. Sakura and Naruto recognized it as the technique that had been used earlier on them and the two sennin.

They team was also unmoving, in a trance, watching their enemies in black cloaks adorned with red clouds, get pelted with the glowing snow, sparking and fizzing, like the sky on New Years. They jerked from the spell due to a sizzling sound like oil in a fire and whirled around to see the figure disintegrate into dust with a slow exhaling breath.

Naruto growled in annoyance, biting back a curse, before he noticed the Akatsuki members fall.

Lee jumped over to them cautiously, checking each carefully. He frowned, eyebrows furrowed together. He shook his head. "They are using a similar method as before. These aren't Akatsuki members according to our current information."

"Are they dead?" Lee nodded curtly.

"That technique that man used," Neji pondered slowly, "I have never seen anything like it before."

Gai shook his head, disturbed, and face rather grave.

"Gai-sensei?" Sakura prodded. Gai looked at her, utmost seriousness etched on his face.

"That was one of the White Fang's techniques."

"Really?!" Tenten exclaimed. She shook her head, in awe of her idol's technique. "But we have to keep going. Kiba?"

The dog-like boy nodded. "Come on, Akamaru!" The dog whined, flattening his ears. "Ah, he's tired." Kiba said, scratching the back of his head. Neji let out a long-suffering sigh.

"Back to the inn?" Shino suggested.

The idea seemed reasonable; they wouldn't be able to track the man down without Akamaru. They returned to the inn, but huddled in one room to go over the information they had gathered about the stranger.

"Is he a friend or an enemy?" Naruto asked immediately, shifting on the bed he was sitting on.

"I don't think he's with us," Sakura said. "He certainly wouldn't 'come quietly'."

"But he isn't against us either, he would have made sure to kill us. He defeated the Akatsuki for us instead." Kiba added, thinking hard.

"He would definitely be a valuable ally, that's for sure." Gai muttered. "But we don't know if he works in an organization or alone."

"He fought alone and had no comrades in the surrounding area." Hinata chipped in, voice quiet.

"Maybe he really is the White Fang!" Tenten said excitedly.

"No! Kakashi- " Gai realized his mistake when their heads turned towards him.

"What about sensei and White Fang?" Sakura demanded. Gai inwardly cringed when he grasped the fact that he couldn't think of a believeable lie in time. Kakashi would have hated him for it.

"Kakashi…knew White Fang rather…well."

"What?" Tenten gaped.

"I figured it out myself not too long ago. Do you not understand?" There was a moment of silence. "Why I always called Kakashi my eternal rival, why he was mistaken for White Fang, why he always wore a mask, why he said that he couldn't cry 'ever since that day'?"

Sakura had a light bulb lit above her head. "So Kakashi-sensei…" Gai nodded.

"Care to elaborate?" Neji said, annoyed.

"White Fang's name, his true name, was Sakumo… Hatake Sakumo."

There was a brief pause before there was an echoing of "what!?" being heard throughout the room.

"He knew," Naruto said shakily. "He knew what it felt like…" His fist clenched at the memories of villagers screaming at him flowing through his mind.

Sakura looked towards him, worried, as Naruto continued. "Why didn't he… he always…" Naruto sighed. "I wish I had known him better…" he said softly.

Gai attempted to pat his shoulder in a comforting way, but instead sent Naruto flying into the wall. "Oops," he said, laughing slightly.

"It isn't funny." Naruto huffed, removing his face from the wall and quickly reverting to his old optimistic self. "Shouldn't we be leaving soon?"

"Yeah." Kiba agreed and tilted his head towards the window. "It's gonna rain."

"Really?" Gai asked anxiously, peering out the window.

There was a knock on the door.

Sharing a brief glance with Gai, Neji called "Enter!" Instead of entering however, a note was slipped under the door.

Hinata walked over cautiously and picked it up, quickly scanning it with her activated Byakugan, before opening it and reading it. Her eyes widened and she passed it quickly to Lee to read it aloud.

"Akatsuki, heading towards Konoha." There was no signature.

"What if it's false?" Sakura said, fustrated, brow furrowed.

"But what if it is not." Neji countered, looking equally distressed.

Akamaru let out a loud bark.

"Let's split up." Gai suggested. "Kiba, Shino, Hinata, and Tenten will head towards Konoha. There are enough of you so that if you are ambushed, you will be able to fend them off for a while. The rest of us will continue to pursue the intruder."

"What about tracking?" Naruto asked, "Don't we need Kiba?"

"Ah, I have an alternative," Gai said, attempting to sound secretive and mysterious. "Now move out." The four heading to Konoha disappeared through the window.

"Sensei, what is this…alternative?" Neji inquired, looking slightly doubtful.

"This!" Gai exclaimed, pulling out a scroll from his bag with a majestic air. Sakura recognized it.

"Is that Kakashi-sensei's?"

"It is! He gave one to Tsunade-sama so that she could summon one of his Nin dogs if he was gone." Gai bit his thumb, drawing blood, and smearing it clumsily across the scroll.

There was a small exploding sound, a cloud of white smoke, and a small pug was sitting there. Pakkun raised a paw it greeting. "Yo!"

Naruto thought he noticed something strangely different about the ninken.

"Pakkun, long time not see!" Naruto said, grinning. He then raised an eyebrow. "Did you shrink?"

"Did you grow?" the dog replied, shrugging it off.

"Pakkun are you able to track this man for us?" Gai said, holding out the kunai carefully.

Pakkun snorted. "Am I able to? Forgetting who trained me already… So you want me to trail you, Kiba, Naruto, or the other guy?"

"The other one."

"Got it." Pakkun jumped up onto the window sill, motioned with his paw to follow, and left the room.

"Is he in any of these caves?" Lee asked.

"No."

Neji muttered a quiet 'Byakuyan!' "There is someone. Should we check it out?"

Pakkun shrugged. "Yes, we should." Gai muttered and they made their way towards the entrance to the cave.

They looked around cautiously, trying to sense someone nearby.

"It's been a while… Naruto-kun."

They all whirled towards the voice, ready to attack or defend.

They stared into a pair of blood red eyes, the eyes of a man who murdered his entire family, save one.

Naruto let out a snarl and made a move to attack but was held back by Sakura.

Gai narrowed his eyes.

"Itachi."

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Review please! Oh, wonderous readers of my humble literary work! Suggestions are welcome! :D But please don't flame me... :| I'm a sensitive soul...


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